BENEFITS OF ALASKAN TRIBAL 8(a)

The flexibility and agility of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) 8(a) program provides the federal government acquisition community, program managers, and operators with acquisition options in addition to traditional vendor/contractor procurement processes. Within the SBA 8(a) program, Small Disadvantaged Businesses qualifying for 8(a) status who are owned by an Alaskan Tribal entity are entitled to unique privileges and benefits. Under the FAR, these businesses provide government customers a timely, FAR‐compliant alternative to securing solutions through direct, sole‐sourced contracts that can be processed quickly, efficiently and in many cases, within days of requirement identification. These contracts may be negotiated to ensure the procuring agency meets its program needs while ensuring the government gets best value for the agency and taxpayers. The specific legal authorities providing these advantages are:

13 CFR 124.506(b)‐ Alaskan Tribal entities are not subject to the standard $4M dollar threshold limitations on sole‐source contract awards that are applicable to other 8(a) entities. Instead, sole‐source contracts may be awarded to ANC’s and Alaskan Tribal entities up to $22M without justification. *

*FAR 19.808-1(a) – Under the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act specific to the Department of Defense, sole‐source contracts may be awarded to ANC’s and Alaskan Tribal entities up to $100M without justification.*